Main Card
- Reinier de Ridder def. Robert Whittaker via Decision, Split
- Petr Yan def. Marcus McGhee via Decision, Unanimous
- Shara Magomedov def. Marc-Andre Barriault via Decision, Unanimous
- Asu Almabayev def. Jose Ochoa via Decision, Unanimous
- Bogdan Guskov def. Nikita Krylov via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:18)
Preliminary Card
- Bryce Mitchell def. Said Nurmagomedov via Decision, Unanimous
- Muslim Salikhov def. Carlos Leal via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:42)
- Davey Grant def. Da’Mon Blackshear via Decision, Unanimous
- Tabatha Ricci def. Amanda Ribas via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:59)
- Billy Elekana def. Ibo Aslan via Decision, Unanimous
- Steven Nguyen def. Mohammad Yahya via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 5:00)
- Martin Buday def. Marcus Buchecha via Decision, Unanimous
Reinier de Ridder’s electric rookie year in the UFC continued on Saturday night, sneaking past former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker in a closely contested five-round bout.
The win for de Ridder, his fourth in under 12 months, couldn’t have been any closer. The Dutch talent got the split decision nod in a fight where each scorecard had the margin of just one round (48-47, 47-48 & 48-47).
De Ridder’s win, which saw both fighters dig deep to stay in the bout until the final minutes, headlined a Fight Night card from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates this Saturday
After five minutes, it seemed like de Ridder was in for a rough night against Whittaker. The experienced Australian shut down numerous takedown attempts, messing with a simple “take him down and choke him out” gameplan that de Ridder later admitted he expected to achieve.
Whittaker also frequently sprang forward with explosive striking combinations in the first round. De Ridder’s head was knocked back by stinging jabs and clean right hands throughout the round.
But de Ridder bounced back with a solid second round, catching Whittaker with a clean knee to the body to set up his first takedown of the fight. De Ridder remained active on the ground with strikes until the round expired.
The third round, easily the most hectic part of the fight, saw both 185-pound talents score with huge shots. While de Ridder wobbled Whittaker early in the fight, rocking him with another knee to the body before connecting with a clean punch, Whittaker dropped him just moments later with a hard overhand right.
After Whittaker followed up with thudding right hands on the ground, the fight went back up to the feet. De Ridder was able to recover and even score a takedown to end the frame.
Fatigue became a clear factor for both fighters as the bout went into the fourth and fifth rounds. De Ridder spent the final two rounds pressuring Whittaker, frequently putting him in clinch positions against the cage. He scored the biggest moment in the fourth by stumbling Whittaker with an overhand left, then continued to keep Whittaker on the backfoot for the final five minutes.
De Ridder’s work in the late rounds turned out to be crucial in him winning, as both of the scorecards that went in his favor saw him take both the fourth and fifth rounds, paired with his success in the second.
It’s not just the official judges who felt divided about the fight’s result. Seven of the 16 media scores submitted to MMADecisions.com saw Whittaker as the winner.
“I don’t want to fight like this, man,” said de Ridder afterward. “This guy was too tough. I want to finish a guy in the first round.”
Former two-division ONE champ de Ridder has now pieced together four wins since entering the UFC roster in November. Past appearances saw him submit Gerald Meerschaert and Kevin Holland, and earlier this year, earn a highlight reel finish against then-undefeated contender Bo Nickal.
Saturday’s result will springboard de Ridder up the middleweight standings. While he entered this weekend ranked 13th, he’s set to move up numerous spots after getting past fifth-place Whittaker.
The result on Saturday was another tough loss for Whittaker, who is still hoping for another reign with the middleweight title, more than five years removed from his last run. The 34-year-old was coming back for the first time since getting submitted last year to Khamzat Chimaev, who’s now next in line for a title shot.
De Ridder now sees a similar path after also getting past Whittaker. Following his win on Saturday, he positioned himself as the contender who could face the winner of Chimaev’s fight next month against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319.
Earlier in the night, past bantamweight champ Petr Yan handed rising 135-pound contender Marcus McGhee his first pro loss, landing the better shots in a competitive three-round stand-up battle.
